Chapter 246 Profit drives expansion

Chapter 246 Profit drives expansion

Paris, the capital of France, was synonymous with fashion in later generations, but now Paris has nothing to do with fashion. The Hundred Years War brought great trauma to the city, and local forces did not obey the king's command. Only Paris and a few surrounding places were influential. This is also the origin of the Count of Île-de-France.

The king of France at this time was Charles VI. After his father's efforts to govern, France once again fell into chaos due to Charles VI's mental illness. There were many conflicts between the feudal lords, and the Orleans faction and the Burgundian faction were fighting endlessly for the regency of Charles VI. Urban residents and farmers staged riots many times due to the poor living conditions. In 1382, citizen riots (Plumbine Party Movement) against heavy taxes broke out in both Rouen and Paris.

After leaving Genoa, Peter and his party went to Toulon, a city in southern France, and then headed north to Paris. There was renewed quarrel within France over who would be responsible for diplomacy with Rome.

Charles I, Duke of Orléans, and Philip II, Duke of Burgundy both wanted to take responsibility themselves, and their supporters quarreled at the regency council, before it was unanimously decided that both parties should be responsible. The guests from the East must be given the highest level of welcome.

Along the way, Peter saw farmers in ragged clothes, business travelers sparse, and many places that had not yet recovered from the smoke. It is no wonder that in the future war, England would capture large areas of land and even Paris would be lost.

He wanted to meet the mentally ill Charles VI, but the regent would definitely not agree. Charles VII, who led France to victory, had not yet been born, so his journey to Western Europe would be like that. He just wanted to complete the task quickly and return to the gentleman he cherished. Fort Tantino.

The relationship between Rome and Britain and France was lukewarm. They were too far apart and no one could arrive in time if there was any trouble. Moreover, Rome had no need for help. This was just an ordinary visit.

There is nothing going on here in Western Europe, but Central and Eastern Europe is starting to get lively. Sigismund relied on the support of Upper Austria to gather an army of 12,000 people, preparing to regain the lost territory of Hungary. Mary also gathered the army. A total of 10,000 Hungarian troops and 3,000 mercenaries were concentrating on Buda. The Duke of Pozzoni also had his troops on standby, and both men sent letters in the hope that he would join their side.

At the Pozzoni Castle, due to the frequent absence of the Duke, he appointed a nobleman from the East, Count Pinsk, to handle government affairs.

"The latest news is that His Highness has arrived in Paris and will come to Hungary in at least three months."

The Count listened to the news and did not stop moving. Although he knew which force he was going to invest in from the beginning, he still couldn't believe that the prince of the Roman Empire wanted to be loyal to the King of Hungary as a duke. No matter how you look at it, it is against etiquette.

Spending so much money to get a title in Hungary. Although there is a lot of land, it may be lost at any time on the border between Hungary and Poland. This is too unsafe.

But Caesar's thoughts, as a count, could not be understood. It was precisely because it was located on the Polish border that he wanted to control this place, especially Pozoni, which was the northern fortress of Buda. Without it, Buda, located on the plains, would have been vulnerable to attack.

Another key defense point for Buda is Vienna. The distance between the two places is more than 200 kilometers. You can attack Buda by going down the Danube River. Why did the Ottomans attack Vienna? It was to gain a barrier to consolidate Hungary.

If the Habsburgs want to continue to stay in Austria, they must capture Hungary, otherwise Vienna will be exposed to the enemy. Although it is possible to move the capital to Linz, it is very unrealistic under the current Habsburg split. .

"There's going to be a showdown soon. I hope this place can withstand their attack."

The Hungarian war is about to restart, and as the third force, Pozzoni cannot escape. That being the case, embrace war.

----Dividing line----

Rome has a colony in the east, and only the people in the Chamber of Commerce know this news. The Southern Chamber of Commerce developed slowly due to factors such as its late establishment and lack of business. Now that they had a colony, they immediately determined a new direction, which was to be responsible for the distant eastern trade.

Because of Timur, trade between Syria and Anatolia has not yet resumed, and only the Egyptian trade route in the south is operating as usual. Venice is also keen on buying spices from Egypt, so opening up and monopolizing the Egyptian trade route is the top priority of their chamber of commerce.

If you want to open up trade routes, you can't just rely on dry land and sailing. A canal was necessary to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas to facilitate trade.

In order to open the canal, sufficient labor must be obtained. It was impossible to recruit from within the empire, and no one would go thousands of miles away to dig canals, so slaves became the only option.

The Chamber of Commerce purchased slaves from the Arabs and transported them to Suez to build the canal. This has alleviated the pressure of labor shortage to a certain extent, but the cost of the canal and the cost of purchasing slaves have increased the Chamber of Commerce's expenditures sharply, which requires the Chamber of Commerce to find ways to obtain income from other sources to reduce financial pressure, otherwise it will only go bankrupt. .

Fortunately, the three Chamber of Commerce ships returning from the port of Andronika came back with some spices and ivory. The loophole was closed when it was sold on the market in Constantinople for nearly 80,000 ducats. The Chamber of Commerce decided to continue investing in canal excavation. Only in this way can the Chamber of Commerce's income be guaranteed.

If you want to invest, you need funds. Whoever has more funds can occupy more colonies. Besides the Chamber of Commerce, who else has the most funds? The answer is banks.

The Bank of Rome, which was started by Caesar, developed and recovered very quickly. They were not only engaged in deposits and loans, but also exchange and currency exchange projects, from which the bank collected commissions. Relying on these projects, the Bank of Rome was able to gain a firm foothold and also After Peter draws 300,000 gold coins, the business in each region will not be affected. This shows the current strength of the Bank of Rome. In various banks, they use the Genoa accounting method. In the East at that time, no one knew this method of accounting. The bank's assets also grew rapidly.

The closest relationship to the Southern Chamber of Commerce is the Bank of the South in Palermo and Cairo. Since they are separated by half the Mediterranean Sea, the exchange business is very prosperous. The Chamber of Commerce decided to partner with Cairo Bank to realize this venture.

Constantinople has gradually improved. As nobles and merchants moved in, the industries they brought have also settled in the surrounding area. The entire place has got rid of the economic impact brought by the Crusaders and is developing for the better. Of course, Galata Still very uncomfortable in Genoa's hands.